Desperado- The Rise and Search

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Isabella

"Do you have everything you need?"

"I've told you a million times already, I have everything. Can we go now?"

I roll my eyes at my eleven year old brother, Carson. Today is his first day of middle school and I'm trying to make sure he has everything because he tends to forget things more than the average person.

I grab my phone and keys off the counter in the kitchen while Carson grabs his lunchbox out the fridge. Once I double check that he has everything, and so do I, we start our journey to his school. His school is only a five minute walk away from our home and I don't own a car at the moment, due to my financial situation, but Carson doesn't complain about it.

He grabs my hand out of instinct. Let's just say, we don't stay on the best side of town in the city of Detroit. Numerous amounts of violence occurs here and most end up as homicides. I've lived in Detroit all of my life, but it wasn't always so vicious and harsh. All of this violence is new to me and uncomfortable.

I grip Carson's hand a little tighter while picking up my pace. I look up and see the dark clouds forming which means the rain is going to start at any moment.

A few minutes later, we arrive at his school. I give him a hug and a few seconds later, I try to pull out of the hug but Carson just holds onto me.

"What's wrong Arso?"

That's been his nickname since birth. He prefers that over his real name anyway.

"I'm just scared. I don't want to be at school. I want to be with you. I don't care if you have to go to work."

My heart melts a little. We've always had a strong bond which formed into Carson's separation issues. Plus, he's a little on the shy side...

I pry his arms from around me and take his hands into mine. "You'll be fine Arso. You'll make tons of friends and you'll be everyone's favorite person. Just be yourself and have fun. It's only the sixth grade. Imagine what you're going to be like when you go to high school." I say jokingly.

"I'm not going to high school."

I let out a small sigh. "You'll be fine. Just enjoy yourself and be nice."

He gives me a small nod and I smile. I give him a kiss on forehead which makes him glare at me.

"I'll be right here at two-thirty waiting for you."

"See you later Izzy."

I wave at him once he's a good distance away.

I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. Last year was much harder than this. He ended up missing his first day of school because he made me feel guilty about leaving him at school. That's never happening again. He clung to me the entire day.

I look at my phone and see that it's only eight-fifteen. Great, that gives me fifteen minutes to get to work. I work at a local bookstore and I've recently been promoted to the manager position. It isn't hard actually. I've worked there since I was fourteen and I grew close to the owner, Dorothy. She like a grandma to me. Only me, Dorothy, and Sed work there. Sed is a high school student working for extra money. He's been working with us for two years now. I've worked there for five years .

I arrive at the store ten minutes later. I unlock the door and flip the close sign to open. Thankfully, the rain started right after I got inside.

A smile smile graces my face as I take in all of the wonderful literature surrounding me. I've always had a passion for reading, but I can't do an excessive amount at home.